Hearing: bill would classify portable sawmill operations as agricultural practice

Members of the Agriculture & Consumer Affairs Committee heard testimony on HB413, a bill that would define portable sawmill operations as an agricultural practice when the work occurs on agriculturally zoned property.

Representative Jenkins, the bill sponsor, said the measure seeks to protect small and urban farms by letting farmers mill timber on agriculturally zoned land: the bill “defines portable sawmill operations as an agricultural practice because the production of timber is an agricultural practice.” Jenkins said the mills at issue are trailer-mounted units sold as agricultural models and that the timber produced by small operations is often unusable by large commercial mills and otherwise disposed of.

Committee members raised concerns about local zoning control, scale, noise and waste. Representative Carter warned that the bill could “tie in the hands of local government” in urban areas; Jenkins replied that zoning authority remains with local governments and the bill applies only on property zoned for agriculture. Chairman Corbett and others discussed acreage thresholds and examples in which farmers were prevented from running a mill because local authorities treated the activity as industrial rather than agricultural.

Several members described portable units as small-scale, manually loaded equipment that produces relatively limited waste compared with industrial mills; proponents said the bill targets operations on agricultural parcels — typically larger acreage — and not small residential lots.

The committee did not vote on HB413; sponsors said they planned to return with the bill at a subsequent meeting for further consideration.